Moana 2 (2024) Disney/Musical-Adventure-Comedy RT: 100 minutes Rated PG (action/peril) Director: David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller Screenplay: Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller Music: Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i Release date: November 27, 2024 (US) Cast: Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Hualalai Chung, Rachel House, Awhimai Fraser, Gerald Ramsey, Alan Tudyk.
Rating: ***
Let’s get real. Any Disney title followed by a number is a cash-grab. Most of the time, it works. Look no further than this past summer’s number one hit Inside Out 2. It cleared over $1B at the global box office, $653M in North America alone. It’s a good movie, but it pales in comparison to the original. I feel the same way about Moana 2. It’s a decent movie that doesn’t quite measure up to the first one. It’s not for lack of energy; it has plenty of it. It also has a great deal of heart. The problem is it feels more like product than an actual movie. It’s gorgeous to look at, but the story is disappointingly thin.
Our tale picks up three years after Moana’s (Cravalho) inaugural adventure. She’s now a full-fledged wayfinder admired by everyone in her tribe. She even has her own Swifty-esque fan club, a trio of girls who call themselves “Moana-bes”. Lately, she’s been looking for signs of other people. Surely her tribe can’t be the only ones. It turns out it’s the result of a curse placed by the god Nalo. She’s called on by her ancestors to set out to sea to find the sunken island of Motufetu that once connected all the people of the ocean. The only way to break the curse is to raise the island from the depths of the ocean. To do that, she’ll need the help of her old friend, the demigod Maui (Johnson, the Fast & Furious movies).
Part of the charm of the first Moana is the interplay between Cravalho and Johnson. They had some mighty good chemistry. Johnson, in particular, got to show his lighter side as a hulking, tattooed demigod with a penchant for self-promotion. It takes almost an hour for the two to get together in Moana 2. He’s being held prisoner by a witch named Matangi (Fraser) and her fish minions. That is, until Moana finds and rescues him. Up to that point, the movie drags a little, but it picks up once the two reunite.
Computer-animation ceased to impress me once it became the new norm. It seems like every animator and their brother stopped drawing and started pounding keys. I miss the days of traditional hand-drawn animation. It’s a lost art. HOWEVER, I have to admit Moana 2 looks as amazing as its predecessor. More than that, the visuals are tangible. They’re colorful, vibrant and full of life. You can feel the breeze coming off the ocean and blowing through Moana’s long hair. The Polynesian scenery is beautifully rendered too. The people who did the animation have earned the right to be called artists. I truly hope they’re nominated for an Oscar come January.
Moana 2 itself is pretty good. Sure, the storyline is slender and the stakes don’t feel as high as they should. Also, the songs are rather forgettable. I don’t see a Billboard hit anywhere here. However, I doubt any of this will matter in the slightest to the little girls that have been waiting all year to see their favorite heroine in an all-new adventure. I must admit, I like Moana myself. I’d even say she’s my favorite Disney princess. She’s brave, plucky and beautiful. In this new outing, she has a baby sister Simea (Tsuda) who’s definitely destined to follow in her footsteps. Their close, loving relationship is the heart of Moana 2.
I see no need to drag out my review of Moana 2. It all comes down to one thing. Will the kids like it? The answer is yes, they’ll love it, especially the girls. Parents will find it agreeable as well. I’ll say this sight unseen. They’re more apt to enjoy Moana 2 than next month’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Consider this an early warning for parents of sons who love the video game.
